You Came, You Saw, You Conquered My Heart
by danielizabethx
Summary: Blaine - the son of a U.S. Senator - is kidnapped by an organization known as the French Underground. Kurt is a member who discovers what the leaders have done. Now it's up to him to get Blaine out of there and back home where he belongs. Written for the Klaine Reverse Bang.


**This was written for the Klaine Reverse Bang. Warnings for kidnapping and spy related things. :)**

**You can find the art, by _volsura_ here: (don't forget to take out the spaces!) i33. photobucket albums/ d57 /boilingpotofacid/kblrb01 .jpg**

* * *

Blaine wakes up shivering. He doesn't remember it being this cold when he went to bed. _I'll have to talk to Angelina about this, he thinks._ When he finally opens his eyes he realizes why it's so cold. Looking around he can see that he's not in his room, the walls are made of brick and stone. _It feels like a dungeon in a castle _is the first thought his sleep addled mind conjures up. Blaine is immediately reminded of his mom and the fairytales she used to read to him. He's brought out of his reverie by a loud bang, the door he assesses. A large man appears in the doorway, though Blaine can't see what his face looks like. The light from outside the room is shining around him, outlining him almost like an angel. Blaine's pretty sure that's the farthest from what he really is though.

"Get up!" the man shouts, his voice laced with a thick French accent.

Blaine, still cold and shivering, stumbles to get up off of the small cot he was lying on. The man steps further into the room and looks Blaine up and down, appraising him. Blaine is more than a little scared. He's figured out by now that he's not at home, probably nowhere near home. He's also figured out that this man could do a lot of damage to him if he doesn't cooperate.

"You are very small," the man says.

Blaine mentally rolls his eyes at the man's astounding ability to spot the obvious.

The man purses his lips before speaking again. "I would have thought you'd be bigger, what with your father being a rather big man himself."

Blaine swallows the bile that rises up his throat. _His father._That's what this is about. His father, the U.S. Senator. His father who doesn't give a damn about him. He quickly realizes that he's being held here, probably for ransom, so that they can get to his father.

The man steps forward again and grabs Blaine's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing him to look up at his face. "Now I want you to listen to me, and listen good, boy!" Blaine flinches, but he doesn't go far with the man holding him in place. "You try anything, I will not hesitate to kill you. Understood?" Blaine nods the best he can. "Good. Now, let's be a good boy and tell me how much do you think your father would be willing to pay to get you back, hmm?"

Blaine has to force himself to think. His father has never really showed an interest in him, and he's pretty sure he wouldn't even notice he was gone unless Angelina said something. It's always been like that, Blaine's learned to not expect much from his father except his Dalton tuition, but would he be willing to pay a ransom to get his son back? Blaine's not sure. He probably would just to keep up appearances. It wouldn't look good if a senator didn't do all he could to get his child back. Blaine knows appearances are everything in politics, and his father wouldn't want to do anything to compromise his spot in the Senate. "I don't know." Blaine finally whispers. Because he doesn't know, he has no idea how much his father thinks his younger son's life is worth.

The man smiles sadistically at him and leans forward, whispering, "Aw, that's too bad." He leans back, his smile widening before throwing Blaine on the ground, forcefully. Blaine tries hard not to cry out in pain when he connects with the solid concrete floor. The man and his guards, Blaine guesses by the looks of them, leave, slamming the door shut behind them.

Blaine waits a few minutes before he gingerly climbs back on the small cot. He curls up, making himself as small as possible, before he starts to cry. He has no idea where he is, his father will probably only pay the ransom to keep up appearances, not because he cares, and, to top it all off, he's freezing. Blaine hugs his knees tighter to his chest as he forces himself not to sob too loudly.

* * *

Angelina runs through the hall and down the stairs as fast as her feet can carry her. She pauses in the doorway of Mr. Anderson's study, leaning against the door frame she tries to catch her breath.

Michael Anderson looks up upon hearing the noise of Angelina's arrival. "Angie?" He gets up from his desk and quickly walks over to the young woman. "Come on, here, sit." He guides her to one the leather chairs that sit in front of his desk, his eyes full of concern as to why she is so panicked.

"Blaine...gone...window..." She manages to gasp out through her heaving breaths.

Michael stops dead. "What?" After assessing that Angie won't be able to give him the full story in her current state he quickly kneels down in front of her. "Okay, just breathe." The senator helps get her breathing back under control, and when she is finally able to speak he asks again. "Now, what happened?"

"Blaine's gone." Angie replies softly. "He's gone. The room is a mess and the window is broken open."

Michael sits there in silence for a few minutes, just staring at the arm of the chair Angie is sitting in. "Alright, can you call the police, please? I'll tell Sulee." His voice is soft, measured, as if at any moment he would lose it.

"Of course." Angie quickly gets up and hurries out of the room.

Michael runs a hand through his graying hair. With a sigh, he pushes himself up and wanders out of his study to find his wife. After checking the living room, the sitting room, and their bedroom, he finally finds her in the kitchen. She is humming to herself as she places balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet.

"Sulee," he says quietly.

She turns around, her long black hair swishing from side to side. "Hello, darling." She smiles.

"Something's happened." His voice is still quiet.

This gets Sulee's attention. She sets down the scoop she is using and quickly wipes off her hands on the floral apron that is tied around her small frame. "What's happened?"

"You might want to sit down."

She nods and quickly takes a seat at the small kitchen table that is in the corner. Michael sits down caddy corner to her and takes a deep breath.

"Blaine's missing."

"What?" Her hands grip the edge of the table so hard her knuckles are turning white.

"He's gone. Angie's calling the police now." Michael sighs and rests his forehead in his palms.

Sulee is quiet for a few minutes before she asks, "Should we call Cooper?"

Michael nods. "He'll want to be here."

Before any more can be said, Angie walks through the doorway. "The police are here."

The senator nods and gets up. He helps his wife up and helps her pull off her apron before they make their way into the sitting room where the officers are waiting.

"Senator Anderson," the male officer greets, offering his hand.

"Please, call me Michael." He shakes the officer's hand.

"Alright." The officer smiles sadly. "My name is Aaron Wheatley. This is my partner, Dawn Montgomery." Aaron gestures to the woman standing next to him.

Dawn shakes hands with both Andersons before suggesting that they sit. "Now, Angelina said that your son was missing."

Michael nods. "Yes, she came in this morning and told me."

"Alright, I'm gonna make a phone call to an old friend," she says softly. "She's the best FBI agent I know, and she'll be sure to handle this case with care."

Michael and Sulee both thank her before she gets up and walks a few feet away, pulling out her cell phone as she goes.

"Alex? Hey, it's Dawn," she says into the phone. "I've got a very high profile and special case I need you to come work on."

* * *

Kurt is walking down the south corridor of the castle when he hears it. Soft, hitching sobs coming from one of the rooms. This is concerning, especially since no one is supposed to be on this end of the castle. He quietly approaches each door, pressing his ear up against the wood. Nothing in the first, or the second. When he gets closer to the third door he knows it's the room that the sounds are coming from without needing to get closer.

He quickly reaches for the handle on the door. As he jiggles it he can hear the sobs stop from behind the door. He jiggles the handle again and concludes that it's locked. He drops to his knees and flips open the satchel hanging across his chest. Kurt grabs the lock picking kit from one of the front pockets and gets to work on the lock.

After twisting the torsion wrench down to the right, the lock opens. Kurt grins to himself as he puts the tools back in his bag. He stands up and takes a defensive stance before gently nudging the door. It swings open slowly, revealing a small boy sitting in the far corner of a boy is in pajamas and is curled in on himself tightly.

Kurt lowers his arms and steps into the room. "Comment vous appellez-vous?" he asks. The boy doesn't respond. "What's your name?" he tries again, in English.

"B-blaine," the boy whispers.

"What are you doing here?"

Blaine raises his head to look at Kurt like he's grown a second head. "Like you don't know!" Blaine spits. He's gone from scared to angry so fast Kurt's head is spinning.

"No, I don't actually. I was doing my hall patrols and heard noise coming from in here." Kurt decides to leave out the fact that it was sobs he heard; no point in bruising the poor kid's ego.

Blaine is silent for a long while before he speaks, his voice rough and quiet. "I woke up here. I have no idea where I am or why I'm here." He reaches up to brush a tear off of his cheek. "And some guy came here and said that they wanted to get to my father, whatever that means."

"Oh God." Kurt whispers. He had heard Antoine and Marcel talking about kidnapping some child with a rich, public figurehead parent, but he never thought they'd go through with it. With a sigh, Kurt walks further into the room, and quietly shuts the door behind him. He inches forward, as if he were approaching a small frightened animal, gingerly sitting on the edge of the cot. "How old are you?" He asks gently.

"Sixteen." Blaine replies, his voice is still quiet.

Kurt takes it as a small step in the right direction that the boy is even answering his questions, so he tries again. "Where are you from?"

"Ohio." Blaine pauses. "But now we live in Virginia. I still go to school in Ohio, though."

_It must be hard on him to be away from his family for nine months out the year,_ Kurt thinks. _And now he's here, taken probably just after getting to see them again._Just as he's about to ask Blaine another question, he hears footsteps and low voices. He whips his head around to look at Blaine. Kurt brings a finger up to his lips in a "shh" gesture. Blaine just nods, his eyes wide and fearful.

It's two guards; Kurt recognizes their voices. They pass the doorway, carrying on with their conversation, and continue on down the corridor. When he's sure they're far enough away, Kurt turns back to Blaine. "Okay, I need to go and talk with some people. But I need to know one more thing, okay?"

Blaine nods and relaxes ever so slightly.

"Who is your dad?" Kurt's voice is soft, gentle. The way he'd talk to a small child, he realizes.

Blaine blinks a few times before he answers. "Michael Anderson, he's a senator for the state of Ohio."

"Alright." Kurt stands up and walks the few steps towards the door. "Have you eaten?" he turns to ask. When Blaine shakes his head no, Kurt nods. "Okay, I'll try and bring you some food in a bit. Until then, try and stay quiet."

Blaine nods in earnest, his eyes full of disbelief. _Probably from meeting someone nice after dealing with assholes all day._ Kurt concludes as he slips out the door and re-locks it before swiftly walking down the corridor.

* * *

Blaine stares at the door long after the man has gone. He only appeared to be a couple years older than Blaine, and it's only after he starts to go through their conversation in his head that he realizes he never got the stranger's name. The beautiful stranger. Blaine may not have been able to see much in the dark space, but what he did see took his breath away. The man's piercing crystal blue eyes that shone through the dark are what stuck out the most to him. They almost remind him of his mom's favorite pair of sapphire earrings.

Blaine sighs and rests his head against the stone wall beside him. He misses his mom. He had only been home for summer vacation for three days before he was kidnapped, and his mom had been busy making appearances around Washington D.C. with his father for two of them. The last time he got to spend any time with his mom was Christmas. He would have gotten to spend spring break with her, but she insisted that he be a carefree teenager like he should be and sent him and Angelina to the Bahamas.

Blaine closes his eyes and wills the tears not to fall. He misses Angelina, too. She is his best and only friend. She's been his Au Pair for as long as he could remember, and they've always gotten along. When he got older, she became more than his nanny and became his best friend.

He uncurls himself and lets his body fall to the side. He pulls his knees up to his chest again and just waits. Waits for any sign that he is about to be yelled at by the big Frenchman again, or a sign that the really beautiful man is coming back like he promised. He can hear noises coming from somewhere, he isn't sure where, but they are filtering in from the small window above his bed. It is too high up to climb out of, unless he wants to hurt himself, but maybe he can see out of it!

Blaine scrambles up onto his feet and moves to the very top edge of the small cot. He can reach the ledge with his fingers. He pushes himself up on his tippy toes and tries to stretch himself out as far as he can. After a few tries, Blaine can finally see outside. It isn't much, but he can see shadows of people. He can hear them better, too.

"-figure out what we're going to do!" Blaine recognizes that voice; it's the big man from earlier.

"We could just continue with our plan. Ask for the money and then when they pay it, we kill the boy!" Blaine gasps and falls to the bed. They want to kill him? This is not what he thought was going to happen. This isn't in the plan! _Wait, there was a plan?_ Blaine asks himself. He is pretty sure there isn't a plan. And if there is, it's to get out of here in one piece - and still breathing. _Okay, so maybe there is a plan._

The sound of the lock turning scares Blaine, causing him to hug his knees to his chest and bury his head in the space between them. He hears the door open, then swiftly shut again. There's no one yelling or throwing him around so he dares to peek from behind his lashes. The sight before him has him lifting his head completely and fighting off a smile. It's the man from before.

The man sets down the lantern he was carrying on the small table on the opposite side of the room before coming to sit on the edge of the bed. "Hey," he murmurs. "How are you feeling?"

Blaine just blinks a few times because really? He's asking how he's doing? "Alright, I guess," Blaine mumbles.

The man just nods before handing him a thermos. "Soup," he answers at Blaine's raised questioning eyebrow. "I also brought you some bread."

Blaine takes the thermos with both hands, relieved when he feels it's warm. He's starting to get cold, but he doesn't want to pester him for blankets for anything. He's already being nice enough by bringing him something to eat. When he looks back up, the man is unfolding a small hand towel, revealing a few pieces of bread. "Thank you," Blaine unscrews the lid on the thermos. He doesn't understand what the man's motives are for helping him, but at this point, he isn't going to say no.

"You're welcome." He gets up and crosses the small space to the table. He fiddles with the lantern, probably just to have something to do with his hands, Blaine guesses.

He's got a piece of bread halfway to his mouth when he realizes he doesn't know the man's name. He set the bread down and looks over at the man. "What's your name?"

The man looks up, almost startled. He cools his expression and just replies, "Kurt."

Blaine goes back to sipping at the soup-tomato, Blaine figures out-and nibbling on the pieces of bread. The whole time, the man - Kurt - is fiddling with the lantern or his bag. Blaine watches him unpack, then start to repack his satchel. "What's that?" Blaine asks around a mouthful of bread.

Kurt looks up from his spot at the end of the cot and raises an eyebrow. "What's what specifically?"

Blaine swallows what's in his mouth before speaking again. "Your bag, what is it? You have a lot of stuff in there."

Kurt looks back down to the black leather shoulder bag in his lap. "It's my spy bag."

Blaine snorts, he can't help it. Kurt's head whips up, a glare set firmly in his features. "No, sorry!" Blaine regains his composure. "It's just, 'spy bag' seems a little lame doesn't it? Why not have a cooler name?"

Kurt's face softens just a tad. "Well, I suppose it could also be my kit. But either way, it's full of my super secret spy gear." Kurt raises his hands and wiggles his fingers like it's supposed to be something spooky or scary.

Blaine takes another sip of his soup before he bites his lip nervously. He wants to know all about each gadget, what they do, what they're used for. But he's not sure how to ask. "Um, Kurt?" He hums, acknowledging Blaine. "Can... will you show me what they all do?"

He hopes Kurt can't hear the nervousness in his voice, but from the look he's currently giving him, Blaine would guess that he did. Kurt takes out the few things that he had managed to put back in his bag and lays them out on the cot in front of Blaine. He scoots to the end of the cot and turns so he's facing Blaine.

He picks up a black thing. It has a handle and a sharp pointed mental object on the end. "This is a glass cutter." He holds it out for Blaine to take if he wants.

Blaine tucks the thermos into the small space between his crossed legs and takes the glass cutter. It's heavier than he thought it would be. He looks it over before handing it back. Kurt puts it in this bag before moving on to the next item. It's a small pouch. Kurt opens it and shows him the small tools in it. "Lock picking kit." Blaine nods. When Kurt holds it out, Blaine shakes his head.

"You can just move on."

"Alright." He puts the pouch into a small pocket on the front of the bag. "These," he says as he picks up a the next object, "are night vision goggles."

Blaine perks up. "Really?" He can't contain his excitement.

Kurt is now wearing an amused smile. "Yeah, here." He holds them out to Blaine. "Try them on."

Blaine slips them on to his head and adjusts them over his eyes.

"Press the small button on the left side," Kurt instructs.

Blaine presses it and the room his now glowing green, at least to Blaine. Kurt gets up and flicks off the lantern. Blaine can see him better now, his whole outline standing on the other side of the small room. He giggles before turning them off, then removes them and hands them back to Kurt. Just as he starts to put them back into their proper place in his bag, Blaine can hear footsteps. Multiple pairs.

Kurt must hear them, too, because his head snaps up and he stares in the direction of the door. Blaine's holding his breath, waiting. He's not sure he likes the look on Kurt's face right about now. The footsteps pass the door and Kurt visibly relaxes before going back to packing up his bag. Blaine notes that he's no longer showing him each piece, instead he's moving quickly.

"Are you leaving again?" Blaine asks, his voice wavers.

Kurt looks up, his eyes soft. "Yes, but only because I have to. If I stay gone for too long, they'll start to question where I've run off to," he explains.

Blaine nods. "You're not like them."

Kurt just stares at him for a moment and Blaine fears he's overstepped. Just as he's gearing up to apologize, Kurt replies.

"No, I'm not."

He's out the door before Blaine can even ponder a response.

* * *

Kurt slings his satchel over his head as he quickly makes his way back down the corridor to Antoine's office. He tries his hardest to school his features; it would do no one any good for them to figure out that he knows about Blaine or that he has been helping him.

It's rather obvious to Kurt that Antoine didn't want him knowing about Blaine or the plan to ask for a ransom. Probably because it's one less person to split the money with, not that Kurt would take any of it. This isn't why he wanted to join the Underground. He wants to help people, make a difference. Not kidnap a U.S. senator's son!

With a sigh, Kurt turns the final corner and steps into Antoine's office.

"Ah, Kurt! There you are!" The older man gestures to a leather chair in front of his desk. "Come, sit!"

Kurt mentally rolls his eyes as he strides forward and gracefully sits on the edge of the seat. He wonders if this is going to be when Antoine confesses to holding a teenage boy hostage in the castle, but Kurt quickly dismisses that idea. If he hasn't asked Kurt, the best spy within the Underground, to do the snatching, he surely woun't start telling him now.

"Kurt, my boy, tell me what you've been up to these days!" Antoine leans back in his chair so far Kurt's afraid he's going to fall backwards.

"Well, I've been patrolling the grounds, like you asked," Kurt says, his voice full of disdain. "I've also been patrolling the halls, like you asked." Kurt has to suppress another sigh.

"Ah, yes. Very good." Antoine nods. "That's very good, but I have a new assignment for you."

Kurt perks up. A new assignment. This could mean leaving the castle and possibly going back to his flat in Paris. It's that thought, the thought of leaving the castle that makes Kurt's mood deflate, though. Leaving the castle means leaving Blaine. And who knows what Antoine has planned for him. No, Kurt can't do that. He needs a plan.

"I need you to return to Paris."

_Of course._ Kurt thinks. _Of course I have to leave the castle._

"There are some shipments that I am expecting. It is very precious cargo, and I only trust the best to make sure it gets here unharmed," he explains.

"Of course, sir." Kurt offers a tight lipped smile. "I'll head back first thing in the morning." He stands and exits, all the while trying to think of a plan to get Blaine out and back to Paris with him.

* * *

Two hours later, Michael and Sulee are sitting at their dining room table with Officer Montgomery and Detective Bennett. Angie is next to Sulee, her head down and her hands in her lap. There are FBI agents and police officers milling about the house, collecting evidence and setting up the phone taps for in case anyone calls.

Michael has Sulee's hands grasped in his own as they sit there answering Alex's questions.

"So, just to make sure I have all of this right, Blaine was here last night?" she asks.

Sulee nods. "Yes, we finished off the last of the lemon bars together while we had some tea. Then he went up to his room to get ready for bed," she replied softly. "About half an hour later he came back down to say goodnight."

Angie speaks up then. "After that he came to say goodnight to me," she adds. "I checked on him around midnight before I went to bed."

Alex hums. "Alright. So that gives us are time frame, then." She jots a few things down in the small notebook that is laying on the table in front of her. "Now, I hate to ask because he doesn't seem the type, but is it possible he ran away?"

All three shake their heads. "No, absolutely not," Sulee insists. "He was so happy to be home for the summer. He wouldn't just run away."

"Also, what about the broken window?" Angie asks. "I mean, there was also nothing missing from his room. If he left willingly, he would have taken his books," she added softly.

"Alright." Alex sighs. "Well, I've got my team working on collecting evidence, but in the meantime, all we can do is wait and see if there's a phone call."

Michael nods slowly. "Okay. Are you sure there's nothing we can do?"

"I'm sure." Alex says. "I would like to talk to you alone, though, Michael."

"Of course." He squeezes his wife's hands before standing and following the detective into the kitchen. He leans against the island. "Give it to me straight, Alex."

"It looks to me like a kidnapping. I'm not gonna lie and say that this probably wasn't an attack on you," Alex replies honestly. "Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt you?"

Michael thinks quietly for a minute. He slowly starts to shake his head. "Not that I can think of off the top of my head. But then again, it could be anyone who didn't want me in office."

Alex nods, her mouth in a tight line. "Alright."

* * *

Kurt hurries back to his room, throwing the door open and then slamming it shut. This is not good. Not good at all. He needs a plan, and he needs one fast. He quickly starts to pack up the few items scattered about his small room. It's when he grabs his rappelling gear that it hits him. _Of course!_ he thinks. _It's perfect!_

Kurt hastily shoves the last of his things into the duffle bag laying open on his bed. He sets the rappelling gear down by the door. He plops down on the flimsy mattress and starts to think of all the ways in and out of the castle. He knows which ones Antoine will have guarded. Kurt realizes he'll have to drop down from the roof to Blaine's window.

He bites his lip in thought. _It just might work,_Kurt thinks.

He waits until the dead of night, when he knows there will only be a few guards patrolling. Kurt slings his duffle bag over his shoulder and grabs the rappelling gear. He climbs the stairs as quietly and quickly as he can. When he reaches the top, he climbs out of the small window, standing on the ledge to reach the edge of the roof. Kurt throws the gear up onto the roof before pulling himself up.

Grabbing the gear and making his way across the roof is the easy part. He thanks whoever built this castle that they thought of semi-flat roofing. When he reaches the side where Blaine is being held, he looks over the ledge. No guards.

He quickly pulls the gear from the bag and sets up all the hooks and ropes. When they're all secure and ready to go he digs around in his satchel for his gloves. He slips them on, then reaches in for his night vision goggles. He places them on his head, resting just above his forehead, ready to use if need be.

Kurt attaches himself to the ropes and grabs the brake in his right hand. He stands on the edge of the roof, facing backwards and takes a deep breath before pushing off. He squeezes the brake, stopping a good few feet down. He pushes off the wall, continuing down. Kurt stops just above the small window to Blaine's room.

He drops down onto the small ledge of the window and crouches down. Blaine is curled up on the cot, asleep. Kurt can't help the small smile that plays on his lips. The younger boy just looks so peaceful, not at all the worried, scared boy he met hours ago. He hates to wake him, but they need to move fast. "Blaine," he calls. No answer. "Blaine," he tries again, louder this time.

* * *

Blaine jolts awake and sits up. He looks around but sees no one.

"Blaine," he hears again. "Up here."

When he follows the sound of the voice, he sees Kurt, perched on the small window. "Kurt?"

"Yeah, come on."

"What?" Blaine is confused, he's not sure why Kurt is sitting in his window or why he's telling him to come on. Where are they going to go?

"Come on, we have to get you out of here."

"Oh." Kurt is rescuing him, saving him from who knows what kind of fate at the hands of the fat old man that is holding him here.

"Blaine," Kurt says again, more firmly. "Come on." He hand is outstretched.

Blaine doesn't even hesitate to grab reach up and grab it. Kurt pulls him up, and sits him on the ledge. He ties something around his waist. Blaine looks down and sees it's some kind of belt with a hook on the front. Kurt slides rope over the hook.

Kurt turns then, putting his back to Blaine. "Hold on," Kurt instructs.

Blaine grabs Kurt around the middle, his hands securely locked, resting on Kurt's stomach. Blaine chances a look down and sees just how high up they are. "Um, Kurt," he whimpers.

"Shh, Blaine. Just hold on and close your eyes, okay?" he soothes.

Blaine nods and closes his eyes tight. Suddenly he feels himself dangling in the air. His grip on Kurt tightens. He can feel them spinning before they're flying backwards and down. They stop again, then the same backwards and down motion. It repeats again, then again, before his feet touch grass. He chances opening his eyes and sees that they're on the ground, on the outside of the castle. Kurt is unhooking himself from the rope, then he turns around and unhooks Blaine.

"We're going to have to run, so here," Kurt pulls his duffle bag around and unzips it. He pulls out an old worn pair of Converse. "These should fit you. Hurry."

Blaine hastily shoves his feet into the shoes. "Alright."

"Come on. Stay close."

Blaine nods before taking off down the small hill after Kurt into a wooded area. He has to pay extra attention to ensure he doesn't run into any low hanging branches or trip on any roots. He manages to do alright, but puts some distance between him and Kurt.

Kurt glances back and slows down. "C'mon, Blaine. I want us to get a good head start. I don't know when they'll notice you're gone."

Blaine nods and picks up his pace. He's not sure how long they run, but by the time they stop, they've reached a dirt road and Blaine is breathing hard. "Can we walk for a bit?" he asks.

"Yes," Kurt responds, his tone clipped.

"Kurt?" Blaine tries to not let himself sound so hurt, but he fails, he knows he does. His voice is small, wavering.

Kurt turns then, an unreadable expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I'm not mad at you, okay?"

Blaine nods, but drops his gaze to the ground. He's not sure what he thought it meant when Kurt helped him out of the castle, but he's pretty sure Kurt has ulterior motives. Blaine starts down the dirt road in the direction that Kurt has been heading. _Maybe he took me so that he could kill me himself._Blaine tries not to let the tears that are welling up in his eyes fall.

"Blaine?" Kurt's voice sounds confused. That makes Blaine stop. "Blaine, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Blaine mutters.

"That's bullshit," Kurt says bluntly. "What's wrong?"

"Why did you take me?" Blaine looks up then, straight at Kurt.

"I needed to get you out of there." Kurt's voice is firm. "Blaine, they wanted to do something that I was not okay with," he explains.

"They wanted to kill me," Blaine whispers, his head dropping down.

"Yeah," Kurt whispers back. "Blaine, I couldn't let them do that. So I got you out of there. And now we're going to get you home."

Blaine's head snaps up. "Really?" Hope swells in his chest.

"Yes," Kurt murmurs. "This was never what I wanted when I started with the Underground."

"Tell me about it?" Blaine asks, a small smile on his face.

"Alright, yeah." Kurt turns to start walking down the road. "Come on, we'll walk while I talk."

* * *

Kurt takes a deep breath before he starts talking; he's about to bare his soul to this kid, something he hasn't done since he was ten and his foster mother made him go see a therapist. But for some reason, he trusts Blaine. He's never trusted anyone so quickly before.

They've both been quiet for a few minutes and they've made a good few hundred feet down the road. "My parents died when I was six," Kurt starts.

He can tell Blaine wants to say something, but he just raises his hand to pause the younger boy. "It was a long time ago, I've moved on." He can see Blaine nod out of his peripheral vision. "Before they died, I remember my mom telling me stories that her dad had told her about her grandfather. He was a French soldier during World War Two. He told his son, my grandfather, stories about his time during the war. He was always going on about this group he helped found, The French Underground."

"The group who took me," Blaine adds.

"Yes." Kurt nods. "But they weren't bad people back in the day. They actually helped end the war."

"Wow. So, how come we don't learn about them in history class?"

"Underground, Blaine. The meaning is in the name," Kurt says, amused.

"Oh, right."

Kurt chuckles softly. "Anyway, the Underground did some amazing things, and I always wanted to be apart of it." He pauses. "After my parents died, I went to go live with my grandfather. He was the only family I had left. He carried on the tradition of telling me the stories, and it was then that I decided I wanted to join. But my grandfather passed away when I was eight, so I was thrown into the system and bounced around from foster home to foster home. I needed something positive to focus on so that I wouldn't focus on the negative. So I taught myself French, learned all I could about the French culture so that I would fit in here, and I learned all I could about the French Underground."

"Kurt." Blaine's voice is quiet, even in the still of the night air.

Kurt glances at him. "Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Kurt's brow furrows in confusion.

"I thought you took me so that you could just kill me yourself. I'm sorry I thought that."

When Kurt really looks at him, he can see that Blaine's shoulders are hunched and his arms are wrapped around his middle. "Oh, Blaine. It's okay. I don't blame you, I would probably think the same thing if I was in your position."

Blaine just nods before changing the subject back to Kurt. "So, I see you were successful in joining the Underground."

"Ah, yes." Kurt hesitates, he wants to really makes sure Blaine is okay, but by the looks of him, he won't want to talk about it anymore. "I left for France shortly after my eighteenth birthday. I saved up all the pennies I could find, or if I was lucky and got allowances from my foster parents, I saved it, all of it. I found out right before my birthday that I also had a savings account from my parents that I could access after I turned eighteen."

"Well, that was a lucky break." Blaine huffs out a laugh.

"Yeah." Kurt chuckles. "So, I left. Came here, well, to Paris."

"Um, where are we exactly?" Blaine asks hesitantly.

"Gisors. It's about an hour North-West of Paris."

"Oh." Blaine blinks a few times, probably trying to wrap his head around the fact that he's actually in France.

"Our destination is just up the road."

Blaine looks over at him. "What is our destination?"

"A house. I know the owner and he'll let us stay for the rest of the night. And then we can hitch a ride to Paris in the morning," Kurt explains.

"And you just randomly know some guy out here in the middle of nowhere?" Kurt can hear the smirk in Blaine's voice, hear the teasing tone.

"Don't be a smartass," he chastises. "And yes, he used to be a member of the Underground."

"Oh."

"Yeah, come on, it's just up here."

They walk the rest of the way to the house in relative silence. The old house comes into view and Kurt sighs with relief. This place he knows well, the old wooden walls and the shingled roof that's always losing shingles, it's almost like home. When they reach the door, Kurt knocks three times followed by two quick knocks - the Underground signal. A few minutes later the door swings open.

* * *

Blaine likes the small house that they're standing in front of. It's quaint, homey. It makes Blaine miss home. When the door swings open, Blaine takes in the small man standing in front of them. He's short, shorter than himself, with gray hair and laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. Blaine can already tell he'll like him.

"Kurt, my boy! Come in, come in!" The man waves them in and shuts the door behind them.

Blaine watches Kurt interact with the man and is convinced they're related. Except, Kurt told him that all his living family was dead. _Way to go Blaine,_ he yells at himself. _Keep up!_He's pulled from his thoughts by Kurt yelling his name.

"Blaine!" Kurt's looking at him expectantly. "You with us?"

"Sorry," he says sheepishly. "Lost in my thoughts."

Kurt's expression softens. "It's okay. I was just introducing you." He gestures to the man. "This is Leon Moreau, one of my oldest friends here in France."

Blaine nods in greeting and smiles. "It's nice to meet you, Leon."

"You too, my boy!" Leon smiles. "Come, come. I'll set you boys up in your room."

Blaine looks around the small house for the first time. It's simply decorated but definitely looks lived in. He likes it; he can almost sense what kind of person Leon is from the items in his house. They follow Leon up the creaking stairs to the small landing that leads to two doors.

Leon opens the first door and gestures for them to step inside. "This here will be your room, boys."

There are two sets of bunk beds, a couple of side tables with lamps sitting on them, and a small desk. The multiple beds give Blaine the idea that Leon has lots of guests stay with him. Kurt hugs Leon and thanks him before walking over to settle on one of the bottom beds. Leon gives them a parting smile before shutting the door behind him.

Blaine shuffles over to the other bottom bed and gently sits down. He toes off his borrowed shoes and reaches down to set them by the foot of the bed. After swinging his legs up onto the bed, Blaine grabs the blankets and pulls them up over his body. He lays down facing Kurt.

Kurt has been eerily quiet while getting ready for bed. Blaine knows that he shouldn't be worried, but he is. He doesn't know why he's worried; Kurt has been quiet around him before. "Um, Kurt?" he tries.

Kurt hums. "Yeah?"

"Um, goodnight."

Kurt looks over at him then. He smiles sadly. "Goodnight, Blaine. Try and get some sleep, okay? We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Kurt pulls the blankets back and then climbs into his bed.

"Alright," Blaine says quietly, letting his eyelids droop shut.

* * *

The next morning, Kurt's eyes snap open at the clattering sounds coming from downstairs. He waits a few seconds, listening for more noises. He hears Leon swear in French. Kurt knows those sounds - they mean Leon is trying to make breakfast. A fond smile spreads across Kurt's face.

Blaine makes a small noise from across the room, making Kurt look over at him. Blaine is rolling over and snuggling down into the pillow more. Kurt can't help the giggle that erupts out of him. He watches Blaine sleep for a few minutes before deciding that they need to get up and get going. Kurt throws the covers off of himself and climbs off the bed. "Blaine, time to get up," he calls as he pulls the blankets up over the bottom sheet.

Blaine makes a snuffling noise before mumbling something that sounds like _five more minutes._Kurt rolls his eyes and steps over to Blaine's bed. He reaches down and shakes the younger boy. "Blaine, c'mon, time to get up."

Blaine jerks awake and reaches up to rub the sleep out of his eye. "I'm up."

"Uh huh." Kurt turns away to hide his amused smirk. He plops down on the bed and reaches for his boots, pulling them on as Blaine sits up and tries to orient himself.

"Are we leaving soon?" Blaine asks drowsily as he throws his legs over the side of his bed.

Kurt stands up and gathers up his bags. "Yes. Leon is making us some breakfast and then he'll drive us into the city."

He can see Blaine nod out of his peripheral vision. "Alright."

* * *

Blaine hates waking up, he's always groggy and can never keep his eyes open. He's trying though, so that Kurt doesn't have to see him looking like the undead this early in the morning. He's sitting on the edge of his bed, watching Kurt gather up his things. When he finally feels like he'll be able to stand without falling over, he gets up and shoves his feet into the Converse Kurt gave him the night before.

Wordlessly, Kurt slips into the hall, so Blaine follows. They head downstairs where Blaine can now smell what he assumes is supposed to be breakfast. There's some iffy looking crepes and almost burnt scrambled eggs already on the table, but it's food and Blaine's not going to complain when he's hungry.

He stands there awkwardly, not sure what to do while Kurt is busy setting down his bags by the front door. When he finally comes over, he urges Blaine towards the table with a hand on his lower back. That simple touch sends a pleasant shiver up Blaine's spine. He sits down quickly, hoping against all odds that Kurt didn't feel it. The older boy isn't giving Blaine any indication that he did, so he relaxes a little and settles more into his chair.

"Merci, Leon. This looks delicious!" Kurt says as he grabs a couple of crepes and drops them on his plate.

"Oh, pish posh. It was no trouble. Just eat up. You boys will need your strength." Leon turns back to the stove where he's cooking what Blaine thinks is bacon.

He grabs a few crepes for himself and then looks over all the options on the table. There's fresh cut strawberries and a basket of blueberries. Containers of cream cheese and cottage cheese are also sitting there. Blaine doesn't know what he wants to fill his crepes with. He's pondering it when he sees Kurt spread cream cheese over both crepes then carefully lays slices of strawberries on them. It looks good to Blaine so he does the same thing.

When he's done, he glances at the blueberries and decides he wants some of those, too. he grabs a handful and sprinkles them over his crepes. He rolls them up and then reaches for his fork. They eat in relative silence aside from the occasional question from Leon about what the Underground has been up to, or how Kurt's been. When their stomachs are full, Leon ushers them out of the door and into an old beat up car. Blaine's can't tell what make or model it is, and it looks about ready to fall apart, but if Kurt and Leon trust it, Blaine will, too.

Blaine is in the back, since he's the smallest, but he doesn't really mind - not when it means he's one step closer to going home. He leans over and rests his head on the glass, watching as the fields of grass slowly start to turn to city. His thoughts have been wandering all over the place; thinking about his family, Kurt, and how the first time he's seeing Paris, he's running away from evil people. It's not exactly how he pictured it happening, but, well, what can you do?

He's not sure how much time has passed, but when he starts to focus on his surroundings again, Blaine sees buildings and lots of them. He sits up and looks out all of the windows of the car; when he looks to his left, he can see the Eiffel Tower. It's Paris, right in front of him. He's in awe - the pictures he'd seen really don't do it justice. They stop in front of a small cafe and Kurt hops out of the car. He holds the seat forward, letting Blaine climb out of the back, then rights the seat. He says something to Leon in French that Blaine can't understand no matter how hard he tries.

Kurt shuts the car door and in a blink, Leon is gone. He turns towards Blaine and smiles softly. Blaine's not sure what it's supposed to mean.

"Come on, we have to walk." Kurt starts down the sidewalk, weaving in and out of people. Blaine does his best to keep up.

It isn't until they're stopped at a light, waiting to cross that he looks around and remembers that he's in his pajamas. Everyone around him is dressed in fabulous clothes, then there's him in blue pajamas standing in the corner. He can feel the heat start to color his cheeks, and he looks down at the ground. The people around him start to move, so he follows. Kurt stops in front of a tall building after a few more corner turns. Blaine looks up and sees it's a hotel.

"We're staying in a hotel?" he asks as he follows Kurt inside.

"No, I live here. We're getting some things before we head off again." Kurt pushes the button for the elevator.

"Like, the Suite Life of Zach and Cody?" Blaine's brow furrows.

Kurt looks over at him, eyebrow raised. "What?"

"Oh, um," Blaine looks at the ground again, embarrassment flooding through him. "There used to be this show on the Disney Channel called The Suite Life of Zach and Cody. They lived in a hotel with their mom."

"Ah." Kurt nods once. "Well, I suppose it's like that."

The elevator dings just before the doors slide open. Blaine steps on after Kurt and stands there awkwardly as it carries them up. He's trying not to fidget, but standing this close to Kurt and in such a small space is starting to make him nervous. His palms are sweaty and his heart is starting to beat double time. Blaine doesn't quite understand when or why he started to feel this way around Kurt; it's starting to make his head spin.

The elevator dings again, and the doors slide open. Blaine follows Kurt into the hall, then down it to a door at the end. He pulls out a key ring and selects an old fashioned-looking key. Blaine is immediately reminded of the flying keys from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

The lock clicks and the door is opened to reveal the most beautiful hotel suite Blaine has ever seen. There's a sitting area with lush looking off-white couches; off to the side is an electric fireplace. A small kitchen sits to the left, and two doors past that to what Blaine is assuming are the bedroom and bathroom.

He isn't aware that his mouth is hanging open until Kurt calls out. "Trying to catch flies?"

Blaine snaps his jaw closed and steps further into the room. Kurt has disappeared through one of the doors that Blaine had spied earlier. He comes back out with a stack of clothes and a towel and holds them out for Blaine to take.

"You can use the bathroom in the spare bedroom." Kurt jerks his head towards the second door. "We've gotta hurry, so don't take too long, okay?"

Blaine nods and slips into the spare room. He crosses to the bathroom and quickly turns the shower on. He strips down and leaves his pajamas in a pile on the floor as he steps into the shower. He maneuvers himself under the spray and lets out a small sigh. It feels amazing to have a shower after nearly two days without one. He grabs the shampoo bottle that is sitting on the small shelf and pours some into his hand. He works into a lather then runs his fingers through his hair, scrubbing out all the dirt and grime. When he's done with that he lathers himself up with the body wash, then quickly rinses. Kurt had told him to be quick, so quick he'll be.

After shutting off the water, Blaine steps out of the shower and towels himself dry. He finally gets a look at the clothes Kurt handed him when he picks them up to put on. The pants look like they'll be too long (but that's okay, he can just roll the bottoms) and the shirt is just a plain olive green v-neck. Blaine isn't sure what makes him think it, but he's pretty sure these would be too simple of clothing for Kurt. He strikes Blaine as being very well put together, even under stress. Blaine admires that about Kurt. After that thought, he shakes his head to clear it while pulling the pants on.

Once he's fully dressed, he towel dries his hair and decides against looking for some product; it would take too long. He gathers up his pajamas and towel and walks back into the sitting area.

* * *

When Blaine steps out of the spare room, Kurt's breath catches in his throat. The early morning sun is shining through the large windows making the boy's skin practically glow. The light falls over his lashes, making them look ridiculously long. Kurt opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. He closes it, then opens it again. Finally he gives up; he doesn't want to stand there looking like a fish while the boy just stands there.

"You can just leave those." Kurt gestures to to pile of clothes in Blaine's arms. "The maids can get it."

Blaine nods and turns back into the spare room. Kurt takes that moment to try and calm his heart rate. He takes a few deep breaths - in through his nose, out through his mouth - and tips his head back to look at the ceiling. He hears Blaine shuffle back into the room and chances a glance over at him. _Still looking beautiful,_ his mind unhelpfully provides. _Traitor._He growls at his thoughts.

"Where are we going after this?" Blaine asks, his voice is soft, scared almost.

Kurt takes one last deep breath to calm his nerves before answering. "The train station. We'll head to the coast, then we'll get on a boat and cross the English Channel into England."

"Don't we need passports for all this?" Blaine's brow is furrowed in confusion.

Kurt chuckles and dips his head. "Yes, under normal circumstances." He moves closer to Blaine. "But these aren't normal circumstances. Also, I have connections." He tries hard not to let his voice waver. This close to Blaine, he can now see the flecks of green sprinkled in his hazel eyes. He almost curses himself for giving him an olive colored shirt - it makes the green flecks stand out even more.

"Oh, uh, right." Kurt watches as Blaine's cheeks color, from what he doesn't know, but it makes him want to see just how far down that blush travels along his neck.

Kurt coughs to break the tension that prickles at his skin and turns away from Blaine. "Alright, I've packed us some more clothes and some food. We need to get out of here just in case Antoine figures out that I got you out of there. There's no telling if he'll come here."

"I'm sorry," he hears come from Blaine.

Kurt turns around slowly. "For what?"

"Getting you into this. Making you have to run and leave all this behind." Blaine bites his lip resignedly and looks at his feet. "It's my fault."

Kurt's pretty sure his heart just broke. The way Blaine said that, makes it seem like it's not the first time he's said or thought this about himself. "Oh Blaine," he breathes. "No, hon, it's not your fault."

That makes Blaine look up, his eyes full of unshed tears. "Yes, it is." The tears fall then, quickly down his cheeks.

"No, it's not. You didn't ask to be kidnapped from your home in the middle of the night. You didn't ask to be held captive. You didn't ask for this, Blaine." Kurt really just wants to reach out and hold him until he stops crying, so that's exactly what he does. He reaches forward, grabs Blaine by the shoulders and pulls him into his arms. Blaine's head falls to Kurt's shoulder as a sob rips through his body. "Shh." Kurt soothes, running his hand in small circles on Blaine's back.

Blaine pulls back and wipes at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry." He sniffs. "It's just been a long couple of days."

"I know." Kurt murmurs. "I don't blame you." He hopes Blaine understands that he's talking about more than just the tears.

"Thank you for, you know, lending me a shoulder to cry on." Blaine smiles at his own pun making Kurt smile.

"Anytime." Kurt glances at the clock on the wall. "Okay, time to go for real now."

Blaine nods and grabs the bag that Kurt directs him to grab. They ride the elevator back down, and the entire time, Kurt is hyper aware of the way Blaine keeps fidgeting next to him. They quickly exit the hotel and hail a taxi. The ride to the train station is silent aside from the sounds of the city passing by.

* * *

As they exit the cab, Blaine sticks close to Kurt's side. He doesn't want to get lost; God knows he wouldn't be able to find his way back to Kurt. He follows along behind the older boy as they enter the train station. Kurt walks up to a vacant window at the end of the row and quickly speaks to the man in French. The man must know who he is because suddenly, Kurt has two train tickets in hand.

"C'mon." Kurt says over his shoulder. Blaine does.

They weave through the crowd and step out onto the platform. There's not too many people, and Blaine is thankful for that; he was starting to feel rather nervous around so many strangers. He glances over at Kurt who is looking down at his watch.

"The train will be here in about five minutes. We can board then, and then we'll be pulling out in about an hour," Kurt explains.

Blaine nods. "Okay." He bites his lip, there's something he wants to ask. It's a simple one, really, but he doesn't want to burden Kurt with stupid questions.

Kurt must sense that he has a question because he cocks his head to the side. "What?"

"Um, I was just wondering how long the train ride is."

"About an hour and a half."

Blaine opens his mouth, ready to say something, when a train horn blares. He whips around to see the train pulling up the platform. A crackling voice speaking French comes over the loudspeaker as the doors to the train cars open up. He walks with Kurt to the closest door and steps up onto the train. They find some empty seats in a compartment and store their bags overhead before sitting down. Blaine watches the people on the platform run around like mad men through the window; it's actually quite amusing.

He doesn't know how long he sits there, watching the people outside, but he's pulled from his thoughts by an older man in a uniform holding some device in his hand. Kurt hands him his ticket, so Blaine pulls his out, too. The man scans them, nods, then moves along to the next group of people.

They sit in comfortable silence until the train starts to move, and about five minutes out Kurt asks him, "So, you know about my past. What about you? Who is Blaine?"

"Um, well..." Blaine trails off. He's not sure where to start or what to tell Kurt. Who he is is kind of a lot to tell, really. "Can you be more specific?"

Kurt laughs - high and melodic - and smiles. "Sure. You say you grew up in Ohio?"

"Yeah, in Grove City. I don't expect you to know where that is, though." He furrows his brow.

"I do, actually." Kurt smirks.

"Really?" The crease in Blaine's forehead gets deeper.

"I grew up in Lima. Well, until my parents died," he answers.

"Damn, small world," Blaine mutters. "Anyway, I grew up there. My father was a law professor at OSU before he decided to run for office. After that we moved to Columbus and my father got an apartment in D.C. to stay in when he needed to be there."

"How old were you?"

"Eight," Blaine murmurs.

"Wow, so he's been in office for half your life." Kurt looks like he's trying hard to understand what that must be like.

Blaine nods. "Yeah."

"What about your mom?" he asks softly.

"She was a professor at OSU, also. She taught English Literature; she used to tell me it was her favorite thing, reading. Letting herself get lost in the story." Blaine smiles at the memory.

Kurt's quiet for a few moments. "My mom liked to read, too." His voice is soft, almost sad.

They sit in comfortable silence again until Kurt starts to complain about being thirsty. They head to the dining car and grab some water, then head back to their compartment. They talk some more about Blaine's life and Kurt's; they compare the similarities and the differences. It's right before dinner that Blaine finds out Kurt is gay.

He nearly chokes on his water when Kurt says it, so nonchalantly. Kurt looks at him with concern until he holds up a hand, letting him know he's okay. "Sorry," he croaks. "Wasn't expecting that."

Kurt gives him a look that is clearly supposed to be a bitch face. "Really, Blaine?"

He shrugs. "I guess I'm just not good at telling those things about people."

Kurt watches him for a few minutes, making Blaine slightly uncomfortable. "What about you, boys or girls?"

Blaine opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again. "I-I'm gay," he whispers.

Kurt smiles softly at him. "Come on, let's go get something to drink other than water."

* * *

When the train starts to slow down Kurt nudges Blaine awake. He had started to doze off about half an hour into the ride giving Kurt a nice chunk of time to think. He had jumped into this whole saving the boy things feet first, but he knew a lot of people in a lot of places, so getting around wasn't really a problem. It was making sure they moved in a timely manner. He knew it would save time just heading straight from Paris to London, but this way there would be more land to cover for Antoine and his men.

Blaine doesn't wake up, making Kurt sigh. He nudges him harder. "Come on, Sleeping Beauty, wake up."

The younger boy jerks into consciousness. "What?"

Kurt laughs. "I said, wake up, Sleeping Beauty. We're almost to La Havre."

"Okay." Blaine mumbles as he rubs his eyes. Kurt can see the blush spreading down his cheeks.

The train stops a few minutes later. They collect their bags from overhead and follow the line of people onto the platform. Outside the station they catch another taxi and head for the harbor. Blaine is quiet, staring out the window on his side of the car. Kurt wants to ask him how he's holding up, but figures that's not really the sort of question to ask with a nosy driver present.

Kurt takes the opportunity to really look at Blaine. He's rather good looking - something Kurt had noticed from the beginning. His dark hair looks soft and Kurt just wants to run his fingers through it. Every time Blaine blinks, his lashes fan out over the tops of his cheeks. _God, I love those lashes._

The driver asking for the fare pulls Kurt from his thoughts. He pays the man while Blaine gets out and goes to the trunk for the bags. Kurt meets Blaine on the curb, nearly getting run over by the taxi that drives off as soon as Blaine slams the trunk closed. Kurt swears at the unhearing driver. "C'mon. Our ferry awaits." He gestures towards the docks.

"So, we're actually going to cross the English Channel on a ferry?" Blaine asks as they walk over.

"How else do you propose we do it?" Kurt laughs.

Blaine's cheeks color. "Well, I - um, I mean."

"Blaine." Kurt chuckles. "Relax."

"Right, sorry." The curly haired boy looks down.

_I'm really going to have to talk to him about that habit._Kurt decides as he steps up to the ticket counter. A few choice conversations with a few different people that Kurt knows and Blaine and he have tickets into England without having to flash IDs or passports.

They're lucky enough to get there about ten minutes before the next departure. For that Kurt is thankful because the less time just sitting there, the less likely it will be that one of Antoine's men find them - f they're even looking. Kurt joins Blaine on a bench and watches the people scurry around for a minute or two. "So, how are you holding up?" Kurt finally asks.

"Holding up?" Blaine's voice is laced with confusion.

Kurt nods. "Yeah, you know, this is kind of a lot to go through in just a few days."

"Oh." Blaine blinks. "Yeah, I guess it is. But it's not as bad as it could be, I think."

"How so?"

"Well," Blaine starts. "I'm not dead, for one."

Kurt nods in agreement because, well, yeah - that could be worse.

"And I'm with you. That makes everything better."

Kurt watches as Blaine's eyes widen just a fraction, like he's just realized what he said. The color drains from his face before being replaced by a lovely shade of pink. Blaine looks away, probably freaking out inside. Kurt can sympathise; he would be too, most likely. But it's flattering and if he were to tell the truth, he kind of hopes that Blaine means what he said in every sense.

* * *

Blaine's too busy staring at a piece of stepped-on gum and mentally kicking his own ass to notice how Kurt reacts to what he says. He'll probably be disgusted and only talk to Blaine when necessary from now on. He really wants to facepalm right now, but thinks better of it. Kurt might really judge him for that. Blaine starts when he feels a hand on his knee. He looks over to see it's Kurt's.

"Blaine," he says softly. "It's okay."

Blaine just shakes his head.

Kurt sighs. "I think it's really sweet that you think that. And I'm flattered."

"But," Blaine says.

"But what?" Kurt asks. "There is no 'but', Blaine. It's sweet and I'm flattered. That's the whole story."

Blaine turns to look at Kurt. He sees nothing but sincerity in his eyes so he sighs. "Okay."

That gets Kurt to smile. Blaine is proud of himself for that small accomplishment.

After that, people start to board the ferry so Blaine stands up. "Come on. We should go."

"Alright." Kurt nods.

The ferry ride is actually a lot less scary than Blaine thought it might be, not that he was scared, of course. He sits with Kurt on one of the benches. They chat about several things. Mostly about their likes and dislikes. Blaine learns that Kurt loves all things Broadway, and Blaine reveals that he really likes Roxy Music. Blaine also learns that Kurt's dad was a mechanic who owned his own shop, and that his mother was a piano teacher.

Blaine tells Kurt all about Angie and Dalton - about the Warblers. Kurt smiles and laughs - genuinely laughs - at all of his corny jokes which makes him strangely warm all over. Blaine's in the middle of telling Kurt a joke Cooper had told him about a bear and a rabbit when he sees the dock out of the corner of his eye. He stops talking and whips his head around.

"Kurt," he says. "Look." Blaine points at the dock.

"Yep." Kurt nods. "Welcome to Portsmouth, United Kingdom, Blaine." He smiles at Blaine when he turns back around.

They exit the ferry with the crowd and head for the street. "Another taxi?" Blaine asks.

"Yeah. We're heading to the train station again." Kurt explains as he finally catches a driver's attention.

The climb into the taxi and Blaine tries to take as much in as he can during the drive. He doesn't know if he'll ever be back in England, and he wants to see as much as he can. They pull up in front of the train station and Blaine gets out of the car and gets the bags out of the trunk again. He follows closely behind Kurt while he gets their tickets, and out to the platform. The train is already there, so they board quickly. There's no empty compartments this time, so they sit in an open car.

"How long is this ride?" Blaine asks as he plops down in the seat next to Kurt.

"About two hours. Depends on how fast the train is running today, of course."

"Of course." Blaine parrots.

Kurt smacks him on the arm accompanied by an "Oh, shut up." That makes Blaine giggle.

* * *

Kurt wasn't aware he fell asleep until he's woken up by the train whistle howling. He sits up and looks around to see that most of the other passengers have already exited the train.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Blaine teases. "I was just about to wake you up."

"Are we in London?" He stretches and rolls his neck.

"Just arrived at King's Cross." Blaine replies as he stands and starts to pull down their small bags.

Kurt stands up and stretches again, cracking his back this time. He sighs with relief and takes his bag from Blaine. They step off the train and wade through the crowd out to the front of the station. He notices Blaine turn to take on last look at the station and smiles. "Harry Potter fan?"

Blaine whirls around. "What?"

"I did the same thing the first time I saw King's Cross station," he admits.

Blaine looks sheepish. "It's just so cool to see it."

Kurt nods because, yeah, he gets it. He hails a taxi and ushers Blaine in. "Come on, come on. We're on a schedule."

He gives the destination to the driver and sits back in his seat.

"We'll be in the States soon," Blaine says quietly.

Kurt glances over at him; he looks disbelieving, like Kurt's suddenly going to rip the ground out from under him. "We are," he promises. "In about twelve hours, you will be back standing on American soil."

Blaine looks over at Kurt, a small smile on his lips. "Thank you."

When they pull up to the airport, Kurt tanks and pays the driver before climbing out with Blaine. They grab their bags and head for security. Kurt tells them that they'll be carrying on their luggage and shows them their tickets that he picked up at the first train station from his friend. The lady waves them on through and they get in line for the metal detectors. Blaine is bouncing back and forth from foot to foot, making Kurt smile. He can tell Blaine is excited to get home.

Both he and Blaine pass through security just fine. They head over to their gate after Kurt checks his watch. "Perfect timing."

"What time do we take off?"

"Three o'clock on the dot." Kurt hands their boarding passes to the man at the counter and heads down the tunnel with Blaine when the man waves them on through after telling them to "Enjoy your flight."

A flight attendant shows them to their seats in Economy and instructs them to store their bags overhead before moving on to another passenger. Kurt shoves his bag into the compartment, then does the same for Blaine's. He takes his seat then reaches into this satchel. He grabs some dramamine. He hands two pills to Blaine along with some water that he pulls out of his bag. "Here. Take these, that way you'll sleep in the flight. It'll go faster."

Blaine just nods and downs the pills. Kurt takes two, also then puts the water back in his satchel. They're both out thirty minutes later.

* * *

Blaine wakes up first. He has a kink in his neck and he can hear a baby crying. He sighs and looks over at Kurt; he looks so peaceful in his sleep - angelic, almost. Not that he doesn't look that way all the time. Blaine decides it's because of the pale - gorgeously pale - skin.

The captain comes over the intercom and announces that they'll be landing in Toronto in about twenty minutes for their layover. When he's done talking, the seat belt sign flips on. Blaine still has his on, but Kurt took his off as soon as they were able. Blaine reaches over and gently nudges Kurt until his eyes flutter open.

"Hmm?" Kurt hums drowsily.

Blaine has to keep himself from smiling at how adorable Kurt is when he's tired. "We're landing in Toronto in about twenty minutes."

Kurt mumbles out an "Okay" before trying to wake himself up to be coherent enough to navigate the airport. At least that's what it looks like to Blaine. He's seen his mom do it on long flights back to the Philippines when they go visit her family. He reminds Kurt to fasten his seatbelt three times before Kurt finally realizes what he's saying. Blaine giggles to himself - dramamine must really knock Kurt out.

The landing goes smoothly and they're off the plane within thirty minutes of touching down. They make a bathroom break, then a snack break before heading over to their new gate. They only have an hour layover, which really doesn't give them too much time, but they manage and get on the plane to D.C. ten minutes before take off.

Kurt doesn't offer any dramamine this time, since it's only a two hour flight. Blaine has to hold in his giggles when he imagines trying to get Kurt up after only two hours if he did take some. Kurt looks over at him with a raised eyebrow, clearly trying to figure out what Blaine's deal is. Blaine just schools his features and turns to look out the small window.

They've been in the air for about five minutes when Kurt sighs loudly. Blaine looks away from his view of the shrinking city to stare at him. "What?"

"I'm bored," Kurt pouts.

"Well, we could play twenty questions," Blaine suggests.

Kurt's expression morphs from a pout into his signature bitch face that Blaine has seen a lot of the last couple of days. "Really? What are we, ten?"

Blaine shrugs. "It was just a suggestion."

Kurt huffs before leaning forward to pick up his satchel from where it's sitting between his feet. Blaine watches as he flips it open and pulls out a slim black case of some kind. Kurt puts his bag back down on the floor and opens up the case. It's an iPad.

"You have an iPad?" Blaine can hear the angry tone his voice has taken on.

"Yea,." Kurt answers slowly. "Why?"

"Why? Why, Kurt? Why didn't we use that two days ago to contact someone?" He's trying to keep his voice low so that he doesn't attract attention to them.

"There's no WiFi on it. We would have had to go to a cafe or something to even get internet," Kurt explains. "Besides-" He looks almost hurt. "-it was more fun this way. We got to spend time together."

Blaine wants to not be mad at Kurt, he hates that he might have made him upset. But this is huge, they could have stopped and he could have e-mailed his parents or something. He voices the last part to Kurt and the older boy just raises an eyebrow.

"E-mail, Blaine? Really? How would that one have gone? _'Hey Mom and Dad, don't worry about me. I was kidnapped but then rescued by one of their own and am now on my way home. See you soon. Lots of love, Blaine.'_" Kurt snorts. "Yeah, that would have gone over well."

"But, you - you have an -"

"Blaine," Kurt cuts him off. "Just hush up and watch the movie."

Kurt hands him the right earphone then hits the little triangle to start the movie. They're apparently watching _Chicago._Blaine eventually get sucked into the world of Roxy Hart and his anger slowly ebbs away. That's not to say, of course, that he isn't still a little upset with Kurt, because he is, but Kurt's right. The last couple of days with Kurt have been some of the best days of his young life. Not to mention, Blaine doesn't really want to think about what his life would have been like had he not met Kurt.

They're able to finish the movie thanks to traffic on the runway, but when they finally land, Blaine can hardly contain his excitement. He's home. He gets to see his mom and Angie and his dad. He makes a mental note to also call his brother.

It seems to take forever for everyone to exit the plane and Blaine starts to fidget. Kurt looks over his shoulder at him, one eyebrow raised. Blaine stops fidgeting the best he can. The next look Kurt tosses him is one of understanding mixed with amusement, so at least Blaine knows that Kurt understands why he's so fidgety.

Their row is finally able to move towards the exit and Blaine just wants to grab Kurt's hand and plow everyone else out of the way. He restrains himself, though. He's already this close; he can wait just a bit longer. The finally get into the tunnel and he can start to walk a little faster. Kurt doesn't say anything, just picks up his pace to keep up.

They make it through the airport, making stops at Customs and security (why they need to stop there when leaving the airport he'll never understand) along the way. Blaine's a little surprised that no one recognizes him. Knowing his mom, she'd demand that everyone in the city be out looking for him. He shakes it off though, and just climbs into the cab with Kurt.

They're about halfway to his house when Kurt reaches over and lays a hand on his knee. "You ready?"

Blaine nods. "As I'll ever be."

The cab turns onto his street and he can already see all the cars outside his house. Some are cop cars, some are regular. When they get closer, he can see a few news vans. He sucks in a breath and reaches for Kurt's hand. Kurt just squeezes in silent support. The cab driver pulls up to the curb in the first available empty space. Kurt pays him and opens the door.

"Come on," Kurt says softly, offering his hand for Blaine to take.

Blaine scoots across the seat and takes Blaine's hand. He stands up and takes a deep breath. "I'm not ready to be hounded by news reporters."

"I know." Kurt rubs his thumb across the back of Blaine's hand. "But your family is on the other side of that sea of reporters. So, come on. You can do this."

Blaine nods and starts towards his house on the sidewalk. The closer they get the tighter his grip gets on Kurt's hand. Kurt doesn't give any indication that it bothers him, so he squeezes harder. They're two houses down when the first reporter spots him. Suddenly there's cameras and microphones being shoved in his face and questions being hurled at him. He can't hear what they're saying - it just sounds like noise to him.

He can feel Kurt's body pressed close to his, he's probably trying to shield him as best he can to get him to his house. Suddenly, Blaine hears his name being called. The voice is familiar, not any of the reporters who are in front of him. He looks up and sees his mom standing on the front lawn, tears in her eyes.

"Mom!" Blaine shouts and then wriggles out of Kurt's grasp to push through the crowd in front of him. He runs at top speed straight towards his mom. Her arms are outstretched, ready to draw him into her embrace. He fits himself into her and wraps his arms around her middle. Blaine buries his face in her neck and just breathes her in. She smells the same as always - lemons and lilac - and he can't help it, he starts to sob.

"Shh, sweetheart, it's okay," his mom soothes. "You're home, baby. You're home." She rubs his back up and down in small circles.

He's just about calmed down when he hears, "Blaine?"

He looks up over his mom's shoulder and sees Cooper. He disentangles himself from his mom and runs over to him. He launches himself at his older brother and just laughs. "Hey, Coop."

"Hey, B. Good of you to come home," he jokes.

Blaine pulls back and just swats at Cooper's arm. His dad is next; he appears in the doorway directly behind Cooper. They stare at eachother for a minute before his dad grabs him and pulls him into the tightest hug he's ever experienced. "I missed you, kid," his dad mumbles into his hair.

Blaine has to hold back more tears. "I missed you, too, Dad."

"I'm glad you're home and safe," his dad says as he pulls back to take a good look at Blaine.

"Me too." Blaine huffs out a laugh.

His mom appears then. "I think we should take this in the house. The press is starting to hover a bit uncomfortably." She pauses. "Well, more than usual."

His dad agrees and starts to usher the family inside. Blaine's almost through the door before he remembers Kurt. "Wait!" he calls. He turns around and looks for Kurt through the sea of people. He's almost given up when he spots him near their driveway. Blaine can't help the huge grin that spreads across his face. He rushes over to Kurt, grabs his hand and pulls him back to the house.

Cooper is smiling like an idiot at the two of them, his mom is misty eyed again, but his dad's expression is unreadable. At the moment, though, he doesn't care. He just wants Kurt and to be home. Once he steps over the threshold, he has both, and he's as happy as a clam.

Cooper's the first to speak. "So, who's this?"

Kurt sticks out his hand. "Kurt."

Cooper shakes his hand. "Cooper. Blaine's brother, so I feel like I should do that whole brotherly thing and say that if you break his heart - I'll break your face."

"Cooper!" Blaine and his mom shout at the same time.

Kurt laughs while Cooper just shrugs and says, "What?"

After that, Blaine is reunited with Angie, who is then introduced to Kurt. They all sit around the living room with Detective Bennett, later, while Blaine recounts what happened. Kurt offers input from what he heard Antoine talking about and together they give a pretty good report of what happened over the last few days and what Antoine's plans might have been.

By the time that's all through with, it's nearly midnight. Everyone is exhausted and ready to turn in. Kurt is offered a room for the night which he graciously accepts. Blaine, of course, is the first to show him where the guest room is. He takes Kurt upstairs and leads him by the hand to the guest room.

"So, this is it," Blaine announces as he flicks on the light. "I can get you more blankets or pillows if you want them."

Blaine goes to step further into the room but is stopped by Kurt. "Blaine," he murmurs. "What happens now?"

That catches Blaine off guard because he's not sure either. "I'd like to be with you," he whispers. "Kurt, you came, you saw, you conquered my heart."

Kurt starts to giggle even with tears in his eyes. "Are you always this corny?"

Blaine bites his lip around a smile and takes a step towards Kurt. "Only when I'm nervous."

"I make you nervous?" Kurt asks softly.

"Extremely." Blaine looks up into Kurt's eyes - the eyes that he spent the last two days trying to figure out if they were blue or green.

"Good," Kurt breathes. "Because you make me nervous, too."

Kurt's lips softly press onto Blaine's. He sucks in a breath through his nose. His first kiss and it's everything he's ever wanted. Kurt pulls back and Blaine unabashedly chases his lips. Kurt giggles and pushes Blaine back softly with a hand on his chest. "You can have more kisses later."

"Okay." Blaine smiles. "Wait, does this mean you'll stay?"

"I'll stay." Kurt leans in and kisses Blaine again.


End file.
